1 Hughenden Park Management Plan 2016 - 2026 2 Contents Part A – The Management Plan Appendices 1.0 Introduction Appendix 1 - Tree Risk Survey 1.1 Location of the Park Appendix 2 – Examples of Monthly and Annual Play 1.2 Need for a Management Plan Inspection Reports. 1.3 Aims of the Plan Appendix 3 - School’s Cross Country Routes 1.4 Timescale Appendix 4 – Quadron Staff Structure Part B – Hughenden Park 2.0 History 2.1 Legal and Planning 2.2 A Welcoming Place 2.3 Healthy, Safe and Secure 2.4 Well Maintained and Clean 2.5 Sustainability 2.6 Conservation and Heritage 2.7 Community Involvement 2.8 Marketing 2.9 Management Part C – The Future of Hughenden Park 3.0 Vision 3.1 Summary 3.2 SWOT Analysis 3.3 to 3.6 Objectives 3.7 Action Plan 3 Part A – The Management Plan 1.0 Introduction Hughenden Park is situated on the northern edge of High Wycombe, located between the town and the parish of Hughenden. This Management Plan is intended to be read by anyone with a desire to understand how and why this beautiful, special green space is managed. It is intended to be an equally useful source of information and guide for green space managers and the public. It sets out much of the historical context, describes the current position of the park in 2016 and lists some of the future developments that are proposed by officers, stakeholders and the public to enhance the already high quality of this open space and meet some of the changing expectations and needs of people who visit the park. An Action Plan that addresses many of the issues identified within the body of the management plan is set out at the end of the document. This management plan will be reviewed and updated annually in order to achieve continuous improvement in the quality of Hughenden Park. In Context with High Wycombe Wycombe District is home to approximately 171,644 residents, making it one of the largest districts in England by population. The district covers an area of 125 sq. miles from just below Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire, in the north to Marlow, Bourne End and the valley of the River Thames in the south. Much of the district is within the Chiltern Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the influence of the Beech woods and chalk hills can be seen throughout the town, which sits in a steep-sided valley and spreads over the adjacent hillsides. There is rising demand for high quality, useable, large and increasingly flexible open space, caused by the ever higher expectations of local people and the growing amount of new commercial and housing development in the Thames Valley, particularly new housing estates on brown field sites in the urban area. This demand places increasing pressure on Hughenden Park to continually provide a key community recreational facility throughout the year. The location of this large green space means that it is vital that Hughenden Park is maintained to the highest possible 4 standards, so that residents, businesses, developers, investors and visitors see the Wycombe District as an attractive and desirable place to live, work and visit. As a destination Hughenden Park plays a major community role as one of the premier open green spaces that serve the varied leisure needs of the entire Wycombe District. 1.1 Location of the Park Hughenden Park consists of some 25 hectares of beautiful parkland and provides magnificent views across open countryside. It is the largest park in the district. The Hughenden stream runs through the length of the park and it is bordered by the historic Hughenden Manor, owned by the National Trust. Hughenden Park is situated off the Hughenden Road (A4128). Access to the park is from either Hughenden Road or Coates Lane. A small car park is available off the Hughenden Road and a slightly larger car park off Coates Lane. The park has a play area, which is situated at the Coates Lane side of the park. The park is popular with dog walkers, people having picnics, informal sports and walkers in general. In the spring there is a splendid display of daffodils across the hillside. In the Autumn the trees provide a stunning display of colour as the leaves turn. 5 Figure 1- Map showing split between WDC & National Trust © Crown Copyright and database rights 2011 Ordnance Survey 100023306 Aerial Image © Getmappinplc. www.getmapping.com1.2 6 Figure 2 – Site plan of Hughenden Park © Crown Copyright and database rights 2011 Ordnance Survey 100023306 Aerial Image © Getmapping plc. www.getmapping.com1.2 7 1.2 The Need for a Management plan Hughenden Park is a resource which needs to be managed with great sensitivity. This plan explains some of the history behind this special place and why it looks the way that it does. The purpose of the plan is to enable the Green Space Team, contractors and all stakeholders to understand the significance of the park and the aims and importance of all work carried out within the park throughout the life of the plan. Anyone should be able to pick the document up and immediately gain an understanding of the strategic aims of the plan and the actions that need to be implemented. Another advantage of providing this document is that it serves as a tool for consultation with stakeholders, Councillors and residents across the district. As well as seeking the views of those who visit Hughenden Park on a regular basis. It is equally important to get feedback from non-users, those residents that do not use the park, and investigate why they do not currently use it and what (if anything) might encourage them to do so in the future. 1.3 The Aims of This Plan It is important that any individuals and groups who have an interest in the management and future of the park have a clear understanding of the strategic vision and aims for the park and the drivers that dictate how it should be maintained and developed as user needs and expectations change over time. This document sets out those aims, thereby ensuring understanding, continuity and a common approach to achieve the vision of this plan. There is a desire to ensure that in the future the local community will be more closely involved in major decisions over the management of Hughenden Park, and it is essential that there is strong understanding by green space managers of the needs and aspirations of local residents. The publication of this plan enables that dialogue to develop and continue. The value of Hughenden Park lies primarily in its historic open landscape, the quality of the environment it offers, the international chalk stream running through the park and its freedom from dominating urban development. In order that proper importance is placed on the need for conservation of the character of the site as a whole it is necessary to safeguard it as a valuable piece of open space for the benefit of this and future generations whilst meeting the ever changing needs and demands of the community that uses it. All successful parks are living and changing entities and must fulfil the leisure needs of the community today, whilst also respecting nature, history and tradition. 8 1.4 Time Scale 2016 – 2026 This is a rolling 10 year plan updated each year. Part B – Hughenden Park 2.0 History In early records, Hughenden often appears as Hitchenden. In both names ‘den’ signifies the ‘dene’ or valley. ‘Hitchen’ is a Celtic word for a dried-up stream; whereas Hugh is a man’s name which might have come from the Anglo- Saxon name of ‘Huhha’ or from the French name of ‘Hugh’. Hughenden Manor was first recorded in 1086, formerly part of Queen Edith’s lands, held by Bishop Odo of Bayeux during the Norman Conquest and was assessed at 10 hides. A hide is a unit of land, the size of which has varied over the course of English history. In Anglo-Saxon England, a hide was an amount of land considered sufficient to support a single peasant family. This measurement could vary depending on the soil and terrain. The hide was the earliest known land measurement to be used as the basis of taxation in England. The Hughenden area was continuously farmed over many centuries with scattered farms and hamlets contrasting with the more densely populated emerging market town of High Wycombe. The first mention of a more substantial ‘gentleman’s residence’ in the immediate vicinity was in the eighteenth century. It was built for a Mr Savage on the site of an earlier farmhouse. It passed through several generations of his family, and to the related Norris family before it was sold as Hughenden Manor with some surrounding land to the Disraelis in 1847. Most of the land currently in Hughenden Park was added to the parkland of the Hughenden Manor estate in 1870 by former Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, who lived at Hughenden Manor from 1848 until his death in 1881. The Estate then transferred to his nephew, Coningsby Ralph Disraeli, (just 14 at the time of inheriting) and remained in his ownership until his death in September 1936. Shortly before his death Coningsby Disraeli had been working with the local Borough to transfer some of the parkland to the local council. The successors to the Estate continued with this transfer after Coningsby’s death, and on 20th January 1937, by a settlement of a £14,000 mortgage, the land, totalling 64 acres and two lodges, was transferred to the local council.